


She Reigns

by honiedpanda4



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, In Vino Veritas, Villain PoV, many mentions of beheadings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honiedpanda4/pseuds/honiedpanda4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Fanfic Roulette 2020 Round 1





	She Reigns

The Queen took another sip of her wine. She hated trials. _Trials_ , by their very nature, meant one could be innocent. And innocence was the most boring virtue of all. Innocence did not end with excitement. But guilt? Guilt was almost as sweet to her as the wine in her glass. The terror on the accused’s face, the sweat rolling down their temples, the pleas for mercy as the beheading procedures commenced… simply _delicious_. 

She half-heard the Knave’s explanations. Blah, blah, _blah_. She couldn’t be bothered. All she saw was a pathetic little man. Sniveling and groveling, on the verge of tears, it seemed. His display of emotion did not move her in the slightest. She wished he would argue instead. No fight in him at all. Unlike… 

Her gaze slid to the audience, her eyes narrowing. _Alice_. The little wench who ruined her fun. _I wanted to get rid of those gardeners,_ she thought, _but_ _Alice_ _just had to step in. And then, in the middle of our croquet game, she just disappeared._ She shook her head to herself. Rage rose like bile in her throat. It soured her wine. 

“I’ll behead them all, just you wait!”

She had not meant to say that out loud. Nevertheless, it was the truth. She wanted nothing more than to see the girl’s head rolling down from the guillotine. The court gasped at her sudden exclamation. Even the King himself seemed confused. A smile curled at the edges of her lips. _If you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself._ She rose, too quick for her drunken state, and pointed in Alice’s direction.

“And you’ll be first! Beheading for you, beheading for the Knave, and for all the gardeners, too!”

“Beheading?! But what have I done?!” the girl cried. Alice’s eyes were wide, and blue, and child-like, and so infuriating the Queen could hardly keep her composure. But if there was one thing she loved more than beheadings, it was milking moments of anticipation for all they were worth. She raised her right hand.

All it took was a snap of her fingers.

Guards swarmed the stands. They paired off and easily cornered Alice and the gardeners. They were dragged away while the others looked on in shock. The Queen of Hearts knocked back the rest of her glass. It would be refilled long before she returned. She descended from her throne as Alice was brought to the front, right next to the Knave. She squirmed uselessly against the guards’ grips. _Foolish child._ The Queen took her time with each and every step, holding the railing for balance. At last she reached the platform closest to the accused, where normally only the court scribe sat. His eyes flitted nervously up at her, but all it took was a flash of her teeth for him to duck his head back down and continue his frantic typing. She leaned against his table. The sun beat down hot, like a spotlight. She could have been on a stage. But the stage would never be enough for her. It merely gave the illusion of power, whereas queendom allowed one to cradle true power in her palms. She was the arbiter of her destiny, and the destiny of each and every living thing under her reign. Her power was absolute as Death.

She drummed her bejeweled fingers against the tabletop.

“But what have I done?!” she mocked. “Nothing, dear child. You have only undermined my authority on my own grounds and abandoned your Queen in the middle of a royal croquet game.” She raised her chin. Looked down her nose at the girl. She wondered if her blood would be sweet as wine. “You have disrespected me, and for that, you must die.”

“But that’s madness!” she shrieked. Wild-eyed, horrified. The Queen ate it up. _Now this is drama. This is excitement. Her beheading will be most satisfying… _Her smile nearly cracked her face open.

“Haven’t you heard? We’re _all_ mad here.” She raised her left hand. _Your fate is sealed._

All it took was a snap of her fingers.


End file.
